When Judy Schmidt first landed a job at Scotiabank, she figured she’d work there for a couple of years before moving on.
“That was my game plan,” she says. “But it just kept evolving. It just kept throwing new challenges out, new things to learn, just kept moving along and all of a sudden you’re sitting in the manager’s chair 39 years later going, ‘Hmm, that went fast.’”
Now after accruing nearly four decades with Scotiabank, including the past 15 years as Flin Flon branch manager, Schmidt has pushed the “end transaction” button on her career.
Not that it was an easy decision.
“I’ll miss the people. I’ll miss the staff. I’ll miss the clients,” says Schmidt, whose final day at work was last Friday, Jan. 15. “The people: that’s what’s made the job for 40 years. That’s what keeps you involved. I’ve met some of the most interesting people on both sides of the counter, behind and in front, and that’s what I’m going to miss, that constant interaction.”
Originally from the small farming town of Elm Creek, west of Winnipeg, Schmidt began working at a Scotiabank branch in the Manitoba capital in May 1976.
A woman of faith, she had just completed two years of Bible college and was ready to enter the workforce.
“I went out and applied at about, oh, half a dozen different places,” Schmidt recalls. “In the ’70s, entry-level jobs were pretty easy to get.”
She started low on the bank totem poll as a senior deposit accounting clerk.
“It was paperwork, it was filling in forms,” Schmidt says. “When I started in the bank…computers were just entering the [workplace], so there was a lot of manual paperwork that was still being done.”
Schmidt’s supervisors liked what they saw as she worked her way up the Scotiabank ladder one rung at a time.
She later transferred to Portage la Prairie, and then back to Winnipeg. Next she relocated to Red Lake, Ontario, then back to Winnipeg once more.
Then in 2000, Scotiabank’s personnel department asked Schmidt to consider the opening for branch manager in Flin Flon. Ready to leave Winnipeg, she accepted.
“I like living in small communities,” she says. “I think you live a bigger life in a small community. There’s more to get involved in, there’s more you’ll try and experiment with, and I’m a big believer in small communities, so it just seemed like an interesting place to go.”
Connie Nelson, who succeeded Schmidt as branch manager as of Monday, admits she has big shoes to fill.
“Judy has been with the bank for a long time and she’s an amazing leader and she’s been an awesome manager for Scotiabank,” says Nelson. “So I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. I think what I’ve learned from her is going to get me through.”
Nelson herself has a lengthy history with Scotiabank, having worked at the branch in different capacities for more than a decade.
She was drawn to Scotiabank by its community involvement and consistent ranking as one of Canada’s top employers, among other factors.
“It was more of a career move, it wasn’t just a job to me,” Nelson says.
“I enjoy the people. I enjoy helping. It’s so cool when you can help somebody achieve their goals.”
As for Schmidt, she looks forward to taking a few months off to read her mounting pile of unread books and plot her next moves.
She is already an active volunteer with groups such as the Rotary Club, Refugee Sponsorship Committee and Corner-stone Community Church.
Now she is thinking about taking on even more volunteer work, possibly at an international level, and will consider whether to find a part-time job to stay busy.
No matter what she ends up doing, Schmidt plans on staying in Flin Flon.
“I like this community,” she says.
“The people here are unique and they’re very friendly and welcoming. I’ve always felt that from day one, and I like to be part of that.”
